Red Rose
by itcorreia
Summary: Rikki just had the worst night of her life... And who's going to make it all better? Zane, of course.


BFWC

**One-shot for **_BigSmile1983's_**big fanfiction writing contest. Enjoy! :)**

Tears threatened to fall from Rikki's eyes. It had been two days since her father passed away. Two days since the worst night of her life. She refused to shed tears. She knew that if she allowed a tear to fall, others would follow and she wouldn't be able to stop. And she had to be strong. For her friends. For her late father.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down as the priest spoke. The funeral was beautiful. There were white roses everywhere, beautifully spread in the empty slots. Over her father's coffin laid a bouquet of red roses, his favorites. He had told her once that he liked them because they reminded him of her: beautiful and powerful. Rikki smiled softly at the memory and made a mental note to thank Emma for the organization. She had stopped her trip around the world just to be there for her.

Her eyes scanned over the crowd and she felt her shoulders slump in disappointment. Where was Zane? He had promised to be there for her, as a friend. Rikki curled her fists in rage but calmed down when the holy water started to boil. She zoned out for most of the speech and caught up at the end.

"And now I will give the place for friends and family to say a few words of farewell."

Rikki straightened her dress and prepared herself to take the podium when she noticed who was climbing to the stage. On no. How dare she?! Her _mother_ took the microphone from the priest and started making the fakest speech she ever heard, spilling fake tears at the same time. Rikki couldn't take it anymore. She got up and ran from the church to the cemetery. She started crying until she heard footsteps. When she looked up she felt even angrier.

"Where were you?" She yelled. "I needed you!" Zane looked guiltily at his feet and Rikki realized what she must have looked like: a crying girl yelling at her ex.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Rikki. I had to pick up something."

"What? What could possibly be more important than my dad?" She asked yelling, desperation in her voice.

"This." In his hand lied the most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen "This is a promise ring. Your father gave it to me. He said that if I was the right man for you, I would give you this. And right now, here I am, saying that Rikki, you are the love of my life. You are everything to me. Everything in my universe revolves around you. You are my life, my love and my happiness. I love the way you always seem to head straight to the bottom of things with no fear. I think that the sound of your laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world and, whenever I see you sad, I feel my heart breaking. I love that you're part of something special, even though you just want to be ordinary. But you shouldn't, because even if you weren't a mermaid, you would never be like the other girls. They are selfish, egocentric and childish and you are selfless, strong and mature. I love the way your face lifts when you swim, and I think that if I were to list all your qualities, I would be here forever." He smiled while he said all that and then he turned serious. "I can't promise I won't make mistakes. I am a stupid boy, a stupid, selfish boy who makes a lot of mistakes. But I can promise to love you, I can promise to always tell you the truth, even if it's not what you want to hear. I promise to tell you every day just how beautiful you are and how you make me happy. I promise to always be there for you in the crazy situations you always seem to get yourself in. But above all, I promise to love you with everything I got until the day I die. And this," he kneeled in front of Rikki and put the ring on her finger." is what I promise to do."

Rikki stood still for a long time, unsure of what to do or say. Zane had just made a beautiful speech about how he loved her and she couldn't even say she loved him back. She thought she did, but at the same time … all the things he had done… He cheated on her with Sophie! He said she kissed him, but he didn't pull back either… And now he claimed to have put it behind him… He finally admitted his mistakes now, but it was all so confusing. She needed to figure herself out. Finally, Zane cleared the throat to have her attention.

"Rikki? Please say something." He looked so helpless that Rikki felt guilty. How could she forget that he was standing there, waiting for her to say something? She searched for the right words. Why did she have to be so… wordless? At last, she found a way for her lips to move.

"Thank you." She whispered, her voice trembling as she choked back tears. "That was beautiful. I loved it." She felt herself grimace as she thought of what else to say. Her thank you seemed so…empty. Meaningless. And she had to turn him down, at least for now. But when would she be ready? By the time she admitted her true feelings for him, he probably would have already forgotten her. Rikki felt her stomach turn at the thought of Zane being with another girl. She wouldn't allow it. She would try her best to keep him away from other girls. She thought of the less painful way to turn him down. "Zane, I'm really glad you said that you'll be there for me."

"But…"

"But I'm not ready yet. I'm so confused… I need to think about this. And my dad just died."

His face fell a little but it still held the love and admiration he felt for Rikki. At least, she didn't say she didn't love him.

"That's alright. I know I can't earn your trust right away. And you need time. I'm just glad I said all of this." Then he seemed to remember something and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion." But what happened to the funeral? Did I come too late?"

"Oh, no. I left." Rikki said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But… why?"

"Well, I was about to make my speech when my dearest mother got up to the stage and started telling ridiculous lies about my father. I couldn't take it anymore, so I left."

Rikki expected Zane to be understanding, but instead, he looked confused.

"How come you didn't do anything about it?" He asked.

"Well," said Rikki." It's not like I can just waltz in there and blow up the holy water!"

"Actually…" said Zane with a thoughtful expression." I think I have anidea. Come on. Let's head back."

Rikki struggled to keep up with Zane's pace as they headed back to the church. She was curious as to what had Zane thought of that hadn't occurred to her, but she knew he wouldn't answer her if she asked.

They entered the church as quietly as possible and sat in the front row, next to Cleo and Emma. Rikki's mom had now successfully put half the church asleep, and her friends looked like they were trying to shot lasers through their eyes that would, somehow, make her mother disappear. The only thing that kept Rikki from disappearing herself was the light squeeze Zane's hand was making on hers.

Sadly, he dropped her hand to whisper something to Cleo. Whatever it was, it made her smile like a Cheshire cat and nod enthusiastically, which only made Rikki more curious and annoyed. She struggled to keep her best poker face, but then something weird happened. The water started to shiver. Rikki was about to put that thought aside when suddenly the water _exploded_. Literally, it shot straight out of all the places where it was, and mostly drenched her mother. Luckily none drenched on her or her friends, but she had a pretty good guess on who had done that.

"Uh…" said Zane thoughtfully, pointing at Rikki's mom. "Why didn't she melt?"

The effect was immediate. Everyone started laughing and Rikki's mom cast a murderous look at Zane and ran out of the church. Rikki herself was crying from laughter and for a moment she was thankful she didn't transform from tears. After her mother left, she climbed to the stage, carefully avoiding the pools of water and finally started her speech.

"My father was an amazing man. It is not fair what happened to him. I think these past few days were hard for everyone, so I want to thank my best friends and my boyfriend, Zane Bennet, for always being there for me in the hardest times of my life…"

Now it was official. Rikki Chadwick had just gotten back together with Zane. And they have been together ever since.

**Okay…that was kind of sad… but cute at the same time, right? So, tell me what you think by clicking review, favorite, follow… And if you have any suggestion for my next one-shot, feel free to leave your idea and I'll be sure to credit you! :)**


End file.
